Improving patient adherence to medications and the treatment plan has been identified by many groups, including the World Health Organization, as one of the most important public health goals facing both developed and third world countries. Overall adherence rates are estimated at between 50-80% in the U.S., and poor communication between patients and healthcare providers is an important cause of patients failing to adhere to treatment recommendations. As treatment regimens have become more complex and clinician time has become more limited, an innovative strategy to allow rapidly recordable clinical instructions that support patients' ability to understand, accept, and adhere to treatment regimens has great value.
Currently, materials produced for patient education rely primarily on written material with illustrations. These commonly used materials have a number of drawbacks. While useful for many patients, print materials may not be comprehensible for patients of low literacy or limited health knowledge. These materials may not be individually customized according to a patient's needs and generally do not incorporate information from multiple healthcare professionals. They cannot include complex information communicated orally to the patient by the healthcare provider.
Combining print and recordable or pre-recorded information using audio technology embedded in a print medium could offer a powerful means to educate patients. From the patient's perspective, information recorded in their provider's voice can convey personal concern, encouragement, and a sense of urgency while also explaining complex information. This information can be both read and re-listened to at home by the patient and family as many times as necessary. From the clinician's perspective, a far more detailed and personalized set of instructions can be transmitted much more quickly than if it were written or typed, since one minute of voice information is equal to roughly one page of double-spaced information. Further, the recordable function could allow family members to record information or questions that can be communicated to the clinician at a subsequent visit. The device could also be used to record a patient's own commitment to a particular health goal as part of an ongoing health-coaching relationship.
Such a system could have great utility in a variety of heath settings. In outpatient clinics, the card could be brought to every visit to have new instructions re-recorded on it and to transmit questions from the family to the clinician. In a hospital setting, the card could be left at the bedside so that a physician can leave a daily update for the family during bedside rounds, or hear questions that the family has recorded for the physician. At the time of hospital discharge, so-called “medication reconciliation” could be recorded on the card so that patients and families would have clear discharge instructions. In a health coaching setting, both the coach and the patient could record goals and commitments on the card.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the claimed invention to provide methods and a system that combines audio technology with print material to deliver health information personalized to the individual patient that permits the interaction of written and verbal information.
It is a further objective of the claimed invention to provide methods and a system that allows for audio voice-recording by multiple individuals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other healthcare providers, and patients to achieve the desired clinical outcomes applicable to the particular patient.
It is a further objective of the claimed invention to provide methods and a system that allows prerecorded or previously recorded audio voice-recordings to be added to so that more general material can be specifically tailored to individual patients.
It is a further objective of the claimed invention to provide methods and a system that permits separate and independent use of the written and audio technology and materials.
It is a further objective of the claimed invention to provide methods and a system that allows recorded patient healthcare goal commitments to their treatment and or care plan.
It is still further an objective of the claimed invention to provide to a patient in need the ability to store, record, and deliver audio voice-recorded material along with print material in order to deliver individualized health information.